Dispensing-top for containers.



T. W, BIGONEY.

DISPENSING TOP FOR CONTAINERS. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 19, 19165 1 1 99,522 v Patented Sept. 26, 1916.

v 1 VENTOR.

- TTOIRNEY THOMAS W. BIGONEY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

DISPENSING-TOP FOR CONTAINERS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept, 26, 1916 Application filed February 19, 1916. Serial No. 79,245.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, THOMAS W. BIGONEY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York, in the county of New York, borough of Manhattan, andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dispensing-Tops for Containers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in dispensing tops for containers and more particularly to that type in which the closure is normally held in closed position by spring action and adapted to be held in open position against the action of the spring means while the contents are being (lispensed.

My invention is particularly applicable to containers for tooth paste, tooth powder, or other pulverulent or semi-solid materials.

The main object of my invention is to provide a very simple and inexpensive construction which is easy to operate and which may be employed in connection with caps or closures of the character now commonly in use.

As an important feature of my invention, I provide a slide having an aperture which may be moved into and out of registry with the dispensing apertureof the container and which slide has formed as a part thereof a spring tongue or extension which engages with a part of the container to hold the slide in a predetermined position with the apertures out of registry. Thus,the device may be constructed of only a single part, serving not only as the closure or cut-ofi', but as means for holding it in closed position.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated one embodiment of my invention and have illustrated it in connection with a collapsible tube, but I do not wish to be limited either to this specific form or to this particular combination.

.In these drawings, to which reference is to be had and in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in the several views, Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section through the upper portion of a container having a top embodying my invention, Fig. 2 is a top plan View thereof and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the complete device.

In the specific form illustrated, the entire closure includes a cap A adapted to be therewith.

screwed on to the threaded neck 'E of a collapsible tube D of the usual construction. The cap has a central aperture F in registry with the passage through the neck and of smaller diameter than the internally threaded portion which screws on to the neck' of the container. Extending transversely through the cap is a slot somewater wider than the dispensing passages of the container. Disposed within this slot is a slide C having an aperture A of approximately the same size as the dispensing passages but normally out of registry The slot is so disposed in respect to the length of the cap that the slide will normally lie across the top of the neck of the container, that is, it comes in the plane between the internally threaded portion and the outlet aperture of the cap.

The slide at one end has a flange -H or other form of stop limiting the endwise movement of the slide in one direction and its opposite end has formed integral therewith a resilient tongue or extension B. This tongue or extension is of such length and so formed that its extremity or a por-' tion adjacent said extremity engages with the wall or some portion of the container and holds the slide in its limiting position with the aperture -G out of registry with the aperture F. This spring tongue is of such resiliency that upon applying pressure to the end of the slide or to the portion of the tongue connected thereto, the slide may be moved endwise to bring the parts into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 and to bring the aperture G into registry with the aperture F. Thus, the container may be grasped in the hand with the thumb against the spring and the'slide may be first moved endwise by applying pressure with the thumb and then the container may be squeezed in the hand to eject the contents, particularly if the latter be in the nature of a paste or other semi-solid material. The instant sufficient material has been dispensed, the pressureon the slide may be relieved and the spring will automatically return the slide to its normal position and prevent further discharge of the contents of the container.

As the closure or cut-off C is carried entirely by the cap, it is evident that this cap and closure may be manufactured and i may be applied to the tube by the purchaser after removing the ordinary cap which comes on the container.

My improved device may be sold directly on and with the filled container, in which case it is desirable that a washer of cork or other suitable material be placed over the end of the neck of the container and held tightly in place by screwing on the cap A until the imperforate portion of the slide engages with the washer and presses it firmly in place. Thus, the container may be sealed substantially air-tight and the material will not deteriorate although held in storage for some time before being used.

The cap need not necessarily be secured to the container by screw threads as illustrated and it is of course evident that the container might be constructed in various other ways than as illustrated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A cap for containers including a peripheral wall and a top wall, said peripheral wall having oppositely disposed slots therethrough substantially flush with the inner surface of said top wall and the latter having an aperture therethrough between said slots, and a slide engaging with the inner surface of said top wall and movable endwise within said slots to cover or uncover said aperture, one end of said slide terminating in a stop adapted to engage with the outer side of the top for limiting the endwise movement of said slide in one direction and the opposite end of said slide terminating in a spring tongue integral therewith and adapted to resiliently engage with the outer surface of the container wall to normally hold said slide against endwise movement in the opposite direction.

2. In combination with a receptacle having an externally threaded neck of a screw cap including an internally threaded peripheral wall and a top wall, said peripheral wall having diametrically opposite slots in a transverse plane substantially coincident with the inner surface of said top wall and the latter having an aperture, and a slide engaging with the inner surface of said top wall and movable endwise in said slots to cover or uncover said aperture and adapted to be gripped between the end of said threaded neck and the inner surface of said top wall by the tightening of said cap and thereby held against said endwise movement, said slide having a stop at one-end for limiting the movement of the slide in one direction and having the opposite end terminating in a spring tongue for resilient engagement with the outer surface of the receptacle wall for normally holding said slide against endwise movement in the opposite direction.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York, and State of New York, this 18th day of February, A. D. 1916.

THOMAS W. BIGONEY. 

